<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>As planned, as expected. by carefulfleshgnawer</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649355">As planned, as expected.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulfleshgnawer/pseuds/carefulfleshgnawer'>carefulfleshgnawer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Basically a re-telling of the Kyoto arc but only the Toudou bits, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Saburouta centric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:20:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649355</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulfleshgnawer/pseuds/carefulfleshgnawer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Saburouta's been planning this one for entirely too long to not pull through with it.</p><p>Author is just enjoying themselves &lt;3</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>As planned, as expected.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Now I did post a part of this on tumblr as a drabble under the title "some wet ashes", so if that fight scene seems familiar, know it was me lol.</p><p>Idk I just typed most of this today in a blind frenzy and i re-read it only once so uh. lmk if u see typos bc I probably didnt &gt;_&gt;</p><p>idk. i like writing toudou... fun kinda guy...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Saburouta finds his fingers itching. It’s all come to this after so long.</p><p>He’s done the research. He’s done the planning. He’s set his traps and set his lies. It’s time. He has the <em>green light</em>.</p><p>Saburouta’s phone sits on the table, screen dark. He’d just received a phone call from Upper Command.</p><p>He can start whenever he wants.</p><p>Half of him is worried, scared of failure, of capture, of death. The other half is elated and giddy and cannot wait to undermine The Order in any and every way he can.</p><p>He takes a moment to compose himself, and then picks up the phone to make another call. It takes two rings for the person on the other side to pick up.</p><p>“Yes?” a hushed voice asks.</p><p>“Hojou-kun, we are starting now. You know what to do. Tomorrow, at midday,” Saburouta says before ending the call. He’s grinning widely, <em>wildly.</em></p><p>Oh, this has been years in the making and it’s all about to <em>pay off</em>.</p><p>--</p><p>The Tokyo Deep Keep is an easy target, contrary to what others may think. Not in an overt kind of way – it would never fly – but ever since Saburouta was promoted to Warden he’s been chipping away at the strength of the seals, creating nooks and crannies for things to slip through if they just know where to look.</p><p>But… Saburouta is the <em>only one</em> who knows where to look - he’s kept the family secrets, he’s played the loyal, strait-laced son. The other staff… they don’t understand the barriers as intimately as he does, they can’t sense how frayed and distended they’ve become, how <em>fragile</em>.</p><p>The poor bastards could never have seen this coming.</p><p>Saburouta sends the Shadow to the lower levels with the Decoy Eye in tow.</p><p>First, he draws everyone out of the Keep. Then, his colleagues sweep in before The Order regains their footing and steal the Real Eye with ease. Simple enough as an idea. But only because he’s been laying the groundwork for <em>so damn long</em>.</p><p>Any moment now, one of the guards will rush in to alert him. And then they’ll all go on a fun little chase. Saburouta pretends to be doing paperwork, although his mind is nowhere in it. After today, he won’t be filing True Cross’ papers anymore. He won’t be wearing their dreary colours anymore.</p><p>He’ll show them who Saburouta Toudou really is.</p><p>The door of his office bursts open, a guard pale with anxiety and shock tumbles through.</p><p>“Toudou-san! Warden! There’s- There’s been a breach-”</p><p>--</p><p>Herding the exorcists around the city is a fun little game. Saburouta keeps the Shadow just close enough to cause alarm, just close enough for the Order’s dogs to keep barking.</p><p>The bigger the commotion he makes now, the smoother this will go.</p><p>The little civvie kid is like icing on a cake. Nothing riles the poor Order bastards up quite like innocents getting caught up in something demonic. The Keep Elite he’d taken with him are all out of commission for now, wounded.</p><p>Getting sprayed with the miasma had stung a little, but it’s all well enough. He wants to make a good last impression when he bravely offers to go in when they ultimately try and save the kid.</p><p>God, this is going better than expected!</p><p>Well, at least until some bothersome persons show up…</p><p>“Sorry we’re late. I’m intermediate exorcist, first class. Okumura Yukio,” a youth with glasses says, stepping into the taped-off zone.</p><p>“I’m Kirigakure Shura... Senior exorcist… first class…” a rather ill-looking woman says. Saburouta recognises her and knows immediately that it was Samael who sent them.</p><p>Hopefully, they won’t mess with his plans <em>too much</em>…</p><p>--</p><p>For better or for worse, Saburouta goes in with a few of the other exorcists and both of the Okumura boys. Well, he goes in with Yukio and his brother – Rin – just shows up. No safety gear.</p><p>The two boys squabble again, similar to how they had earlier when the mother had asked what would become of her child. They remind him a bit of his own siblings, who are long dead now. They used to squabble too, though it was significantly less <em>childish</em>.</p><p>Saburouta thinks it’s funny but says nothing. He’s thinking of ways to disarm and incapacitate everyone currently in the building. He needs to be thorough, otherwise he’ll lose precious time.</p><p>“-oh, the canary stopped singing. That guy must be close,” Rin says.</p><p>The Shadow is indeed close, poised at the end of the hallway. Saburouta knows what to do. He straggles, ending up the last person in their group.</p><p>“The boy’s alive!” Yukio shouts, “But his condition looks severe… we must hurry- Stop right there!”</p><p>The Shadow draws near. It draws everyone’s attention. It’s easy enough to take out the two exorcists lagging behind with a well-placed <em>stab</em>. The two boys hardly even notice the soft thuds of the bodies hitting the floor.</p><p>“One more step and I’ll shoot!” Yukio bellows.</p><p>Saburouta releases the Shadow, and it scatters like smoke. It’s just the three of them and the boy now. He’s not sure what the son of Satan is capable of, though. This is a bit of a gamble.</p><p>He plans to end up on top.</p><p>“This is a fake...!” Yukio says as he inspects the Decoy Eye. Saburouta smiles tightly - the jig is up. He comes up behind the boy and-</p><p>aims to floor Yukio with a well-placed kick in the ribs- but the kid manages to roll with it and keep his balance.</p><p>“Toudou-san!?” Yukio yells when he turns around. There’s obvious confusion on his face. And a steely caution.</p><p>“Ah, this is too bad,” Saburouta dismays. He’s lost the element of surprise. “The secret is out!” He rips the stuffy protective garb off. “At least I can try and buy more time…”</p><p>“Rin!” Yukio barks, gun aimed at Saburouta, “Take the boy and get outside!”</p><p>“You got it!” Rin grabs the child and makes a mad dash down the hall. Saburouta sics the Shadow on him to try and slow them down.</p><p>Rin has no trouble incinerating it though, so in a split-second decision Saburouta picks the bigger target. Yukio’s distracted enough with the lightshow-</p><p>-and this time he goes down for good. Saburouta has him in an arm-lock.</p><p>Rin manages to get away with the kid. Oh well. Can’t have everything. But he figures he might as well play with his captive for a bit.</p><p>“You’re a lot like I used to be,” Saburouta says, wrenching Yukio’s arm back, “My family had my life planned before I was born, and I just followed them and The Order along like a dog… I wanted to be like my father and older brothers…” Yukio lies still, listening, “But what did that get me? <em>Nothing</em>. So, I had to recognise my own feelings eventually…”</p><p>He looks down, at the worried face of the teen, takes in the fear, the anger, “I realised I hate my family and this organisation, and the world. And then, it was if a light had turned on! I felt complete!”</p><p>“No,” Yukio strains to say with Saburouta’s weigh bearing down on his back, “You’re just <em>weak</em>. You let a demon seduce you.”</p><p>Though he finds the kid’s words funny, the word <em>weak</em> has something old and painful rising up in Saburouta’s chest. “Every heart has its weakness, Okumura-kun. Are you so afraid of it?”</p><p>His phone beeps with an incoming message. The signal.</p><p>With some strain, Saburouta gets up, back protesting. Unfortunately, he’s not as young as he used to be.</p><p>“Well, I suppose this has been pleasant,” Saburouta says, checking the time cursively. They are well within the planned margins. Lovely!</p><p>“Wait, what are you doing?” Yukio asks, rising to his feet.</p><p>“I’m glad to have had this chance to talk with you,” Saburouta says, straightening out his tie, “I know you don’t understand quite yet, but eventually you will. When that time comes, I’ll make sure to welcome you, Okumura-kun.”</p><p>Though it takes a good deal of energy, Saburouta melds with the shadows, crawls down through the cracks of the building and comes out on the other side intact.</p><p>He needs to get to the rendezvous point. The left eye is theirs.</p><p>--</p><p>From then on, it’s a waiting game until Mamushi gives the clear. She hadn’t succeeded on the first attempt, so security’s tight. Well, they made a plan B for this very reason.</p><p>Though exasperated, Saburouta keeps his cool with her. Still acts like a concerned teacher. She might be ensnared, but Saburouta needs to remain gentle with her. It had taken the son of Satan coming to light to get her fully onboard despite the long time he’d worked on her.</p><p>He needs her to <em>pull through</em>.</p><p>And she does. Two days later, Mamushi calls him.</p><p>“I overheard that the guards of the Keep would be in a meeting today,” she whispers harshly through the phone, “It starts soon, I think. Please come as soon as you can, we might lose our chance-”</p><p>“I’m on my way, Hojou-kun,” Saburouta says gently through the phone, “I was waiting by. Go and start, I will join you very soon.”</p><p>The line dies. Saburouta licks his teeth.</p><p>(<em>so close so close so close so close-</em>)</p><p>--</p><p>He brute forces his way into the Kyoto keep, breaks down the ceiling of the chamber and enters from above. He has no time for silly halls and running around. They need to get the Eye quickly and go before all the True Cross dogs come sniffing.</p><p>He spots Juuzou among the falling debris.</p><p>“Hello,” Saburouta says pleasantly, “It’s been a while, Shima-kun. How are you?”</p><p>Juuzou isn’t keen on returning the pleasantries. “Toudou, you devil! How dare you lie to Mamushi!”</p><p>“Devil…” Saburouta repeats, then laughs, “Oh, I like that! And I haven’t lied to Hojou-kun, simply asked for her help!”</p><p>“That’s right. I chose this,” Mamushi says, her voice steady. Her naga sets the vial with the Eye in her hand gently.</p><p>“Mamushi! He’s using you!” Juuzou yells, not knowing when to leave well enough alone, “Are you blind?”</p><p>Mamushi opens the vial, takes the Eye into her hand. “You’re the blind ones,” she says as she lifts the Eye up in front of her own.</p><p>Saburouta takes that moment to spirit the two of them away, though the drain of it is considerable. Well, he’s leeching energy from the Left Eye, so it’s fine for now, though he probably shouldn’t do it again anytime soon.</p><p>Mamushi falls over coughing, obviously strained by the miasma of the Right Eye.</p><p>“Seems this was a lot to ask of you…” Saburouta says gently.</p><p>“No! I’m fine, I can keep going,” Mamushi stubbornly replies.</p><p>“Are you sure, Hojou-kun? I would hate to lose you… I can’t carry both eyes. Do you need to rest?”</p><p>Mamushi rises back to her feet, expression frustrated and tight; she’s obviously in pain. “No! We need to take these horrible things somewhere safe!”</p><p>Saburouta smiles where she can’t see. Oh, if only she knew.</p><p>“If you’re sure…” he says, “but, please, tell me if you need to take a moment, alright? I’m so sorry for putting you through this…”</p><p>“It’s not your fault, Toudou-san,” Mamushi huffs finally seeming to get a hold of herself. Her expression hardens with resolve, “We need to do this for the greater good and the safety of so many people.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Saburouta says, “Let’s go then – to where the eyes were sealed before the Myou Dharani joined True Cross.” – to where his true objective lies in wait.</p><p>--</p><p>Mamushi leads him up Mt. Kongo, to the abandoned temple grounds. She’s faring surprisingly well, considering how much she’s struggling. Hasn’t asked for a single break since they set out. Such an admirable girl, really.</p><p>The foliage parts and the temple buildings come into view.</p><p>“Goma hall is further up!” Mamushi explains, “Are you sure this is safe?”</p><p>“Fudobuji temple was built around Goma hall to protect it,” Saburouta says, “The right eye used to be sealed here; we should return it to its original place.”</p><p>They come to a stop by the entrance of the Goma hall. “This place used to be off limits to anyone but the head priest,” Mamushi says, walking up the steps. The wood is old and creaks ominously. “But now it’s an empty shell- “she slides open the door”-without a master or ido- wait! The sacred fire is lit!”</p><p>Saburouta hums. This only confirms his suspicions and hopes. Any minute now, his objective will reveal itself. He tries to keep the excitement small and tight within him. He still needs to act his part for now, at least until-</p><p>“There must be a hidden door somewhere here that leads to the chamber,” Saburouta says, “Come, help me look, Hojou-kun.”</p><p>Mamushi turns away from the fire reluctantly. Her face bleeds from the toxicity of the Right Eye. Saburouta can see the sheen of a sickly sweat on her in the dim fire light. But she’s holding on so well. Her spirit is impressive to say the least.</p><p>Ah, it’s a pity he’ll have to kill her after this.</p><p>Saburouta moves the box the sits before the altar to find a trap door underneath it. “Here it is,” he says as he opens it. The air that comes up from the passage smells stale, rotten, cold. “Let’s go down, Hojou-kun.”</p><p>Saburouta grabs one of the sticks from the altar fire for a torch and hops into the hole. The smell of mould grows stronger. The passage is roughly cut into the ground, the steps uneven and slippery. “Watch your step,” Saburouta warns.</p><p>“Oh, a door,” Saburouta muses. He takes in the abundance of seals gluing it shut. The paper is old and worn, the ink faded. He doubts they even work anymore.</p><p>“I didn’t know Goma hall had a basement…” Mamushi says before turning to cough.</p><p>“Hojou-kun… you can give me the Right Eye… I’m worried about your health…” Saburouta says in a worried tone.</p><p>“But you said that-” cough “-it’s too dangerous for one of us to carry both!” she exclaims.</p><p>“I know, but we’re almost there. Ah, seeing you now… I truly regret involving you in this,” Saburouta says with a sad lilt, “What will happen to your future?” he pauses for effect, “Hojou-kun, do you regret doing this?”</p><p>Carefully, Mamushi reaches in and removes the Right Eye, “No, I don’t.”</p><p>“There’s a good girl,” Saburouta says as she places the Eye in his hand. “Now,” he touches the fire to the seals, burning them away, “let us open this door.”</p><p>It opens with an ominous creak. The chamber is surprisingly well lit. And in it’s centre, bound in chains, is the mummified remains of the Impure King. Saburouta smiles. Any second now.</p><p>“Wh-what is that?” Mamushi asks.</p><p>“It’s the Impure King,” Saburouta answers, rolling the Right Eye between his fingers, “Surely, you know the legends.”</p><p>“Wait- so? It wasn’t destroyed? It’s been here for a hundred and fifty years?” her voice grows more fretful with each word. “But- wait! The eyes-?”</p><p>Saburouta smiles. <em>Finally</em>, she’s caught on. “Exactly. If we return them to the husk of the Impure king… he will live once more!” Saburouta turns to look. Just to see her expression.</p><p>Confusion. Betrayal. <em>Fear</em>.</p><p>“Toudou-san… just what are you doing?” she asks, voice full of disbelief.</p><p>Oh, how he loves to see it. This painful little moment of understanding, the despair that settles in. “I’m sorry, Hojou-kun… you are a dear pupil of mine, so this is hard to say. But… I simply have no use for you anymore.”</p><p>He lets his appearance change – the horns and ears and tail reveal his true nature. He was never her friend.</p><p>It would have been better for darling Mamushi to listen to Juuzou. But, ah, is Saburouta ever glad that she didn’t. That she had a dark splinter in her heart that he could drive deeper and deeper until it wouldn’t come out.</p><p>And then, the man of the hour appears, cloaked in bright red flames. High priest Suguro Tatsuma.</p><p>“Well, well,” Saburouta calls out. Finally.</p><p>“High priest-!” Mamushi says, shocked.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Mamushi! I’ll get you back safely!” Tatsuma promises. Then, he turns towards Saburouta with a determined and serious look on his face. “The Impure King is a cancer. I will not allow it to plague yet another generation – I will protect everyone. And I, Suguro Tatsuma, 17<sup>th</sup> Head Priest of the Myou Dharani, will not let you or anyone stop me!”</p><p>Saburouta admires the speech. Tatsuma has a nice talking voice, truly fit for a monk. But still, he is waiting for-</p><p>“Karura, lend me your flame!”</p><p>-that.</p><p>“Karura,” Saburouta says at it appears, small but bright and burning, “The vermillion bird… the phoenix… truly a wonderful familiar!”</p><p>“You foul demon,” Karura speaks, her voice clear and hot, “I know not what you want, but you mess with things beyond your comprehension. Release the eyes and disappear!”</p><p>She rains down a volley of fire on Saburouta – the fire is scalding, agonising as it melts his skin, but he moves forwards single-mindedly to attack Tatsuma directly.</p><p>“I will not relent!” he says as he unleashes a blow that Tatsuma parries, “Far too long I’ve waited to just <em>give up</em>.” He tries for a series of punches, forcing Tatsuma backwards.</p><p>But Tatsuma retaliates with large, fiery lance that throws Saburouta off. He retreats for just a moment to avoid further damage. Ah, this is tricky.</p><p>“Such physical abilities!” Tatsuma exclaims. What flattery.</p><p>“So is the case with humans possessed by demons,” Karura replies solemnly.</p><p>“Very well-!” Tatsuma rains down another volley of fire, more intense than before. Saburouta burns faster than he can recover. How inconveniencing.</p><p>In a rather dirty move, he launches one of his throwing knives at Mamushi. As expected, Tatsuma ceases his attack to shield her.</p><p>Saburouta has precious little seconds to do replace the Impure King’s eyes into its sockets.</p><p>“You leave me no choice,” he says. And then the dead husk comes alive at once with a release of energy that throws Saburouta away and into a wall with a dull <em>thunk</em>.</p><p>Ah, he’s done it now… He watches as the body swells and distends, bulbous and wet. Pulsing veins cover the surface of the demon.</p><p>“Hold on, Mamushi!” Tatsuma yells, holding her weakening frame upright, “The Impure King is awakening!”</p><p>Saburouta’s trapped in an unfortunate predicament – the body of the demon is between him and the doors, and free room is quickly running out of supply. He needs to get out of this place <em>now</em>.</p><p>Just barely, he manages to squeeze past it and into the stairway, though it is now half occluded with rubble. He hears the Goma hall groan and crack as it breaks apart.</p><p>Saburouta uses brute force to get through and out. The demon inside him is struggling now, barely anything left of its power. The beast has run dry, so to say. That’s fine. Saburouta is about to get <em>another</em>.</p><p>He comes to with Tatsuma casting some kind of spell in an attempt to contain the Impure King. Ever courteous, he lets him finish.</p><p>After the chant finishes, Tatsuma slumps, “Haa- that should. Hold it in place for now. That took a lot…”</p><p>“I warned you,” Karura chimes.</p><p>Saburouta draws near from behind. Neither of them have noticed him yet. A mistake.</p><p>“I’m still alive, aren’t I?” Tatsuma asks, “There’s plenty of ways to defeat the Impure King.”</p><p>Well, not for Suguro Tatsuma, Saburouta thinks as he stabs him from behind, right through the neck.</p><p>“Ah, this is getting messy…” Saburouta says, exasperated, “I’m so sorry about Hojou-kun. It’s just – you’re such a mysterious man! It’s been like chasing a ghost – I couldn’t find you anywhere.”</p><p>Saburouta pulls his handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the blade.</p><p>“I thought long and hard, but eventually I realised that the only way I could draw you out was by reawakening the Impure King! I knew that Karura must be the one keeping it sealed… but it’s taken so long for me to reach this day.”</p><p>Tatsuma stares at him from where he lies in the grass, blood pooling underneath him.</p><p>Saburouta smiles down gently, “You’ve been my target all along~” he sing-songs. “Well… maybe that’s not entirely correct. I’m after your familiar!”</p><p>Saburouta catches the bird un his knife. Karura beats her wings weakly, but she’s caught.</p><p>Without much thought or manners, Saburouta devours it. The first bite singes his lips and tongue, he feels his gums boil and pop open on the second. It goes down scalding, like red-hot coals. Even so, Saburouta sighs with relief as he feels her in his stomach.</p><p>It’s all coming together. Finally.</p><p>Something strange happens as he swallows the last bite – he feels – like a wave that washes over him. Everything turns bright for a moment and then… then… he feels different.</p><p>Saburouta drags his hands over his face. He feels weird. He feels tingly, elated, strangely good and just… not like himself. But in a good way.</p><p>“Ah, this is beyond what I imagined…” Saburouta says. He feels pure power thrumming under his skin, skittering around his bones. He feels indestructible. He feels…</p><p>“Strange, I feel…,” he looks at his palms – they look different too, smoother and- and his scars are gone. “Younger? Is this a side-effect of Karura’s power?”</p><p>Karura tumbles in his stomach. It has white-hot pain blooming in his chest, his abdomen. He curls his hand into the fabric of his coat, clenches it tightly.</p><p>“Ah, she’s so feisty…” he mumbles, then feels a manic sort of laugh bubbling up inside. “I’m not an adequate vessel just yet, but I will adapt… heh, another step closer to our goals. Thank you, Suguro Tatsuma.”</p><p>With a last wave, he turns around and leaves Tatsuma to bleed out. He needs to… get out of here, preferably, or at least hide somewhere for now.</p><p>--</p><p>But he doesn’t manage to get far.</p><p>Karura refuses to settle, so he sort of just ends up on all fours by a rock, trying to not throw her up or burn up completely. He hopes to not run into anyone, but that might just be one too many things going right in a day, or, in other words, <em>impossible</em>.</p><p>Saburouta senses Yukio just before he sees him. Recognises him by the smell of his bullets and gunpowder (Not standard issue. He first noticed back in Tokyo. The kid must be filling and assembling his own ammunition.)</p><p>Saburouta squeezes his eyes shut for a moment. ‘You will cooperate with me or else,’ he projects the thought unto Karura, who seems to pause in struggling. Reluctantly, she abates.</p><p>Just enough that Saburouta can <em>think</em>.</p><p>Tiredly, Saburouta smiles. “Hello,” he calls out, “I know you’re there. It’s no use hiding, Okumura-kun.”</p><p>When Yukio doesn’t seem to want to comply, Saburouta tries out Karura’s power for the first time. With a wave of his hand, he sets fire to the underbrush behind Yukio, cutting off an escape route. It’s messy, and doesn’t turn out quite how he aimed, but a good start.</p><p>Slowly, Yukio comes into the open, gun drawn.</p><p>Saburouta smiles cheekily, “Thank you for complying!”</p><p>“Are you really Toudou Saburouta?” Yukio asks cautiously.</p><p>And Saburouta – he thinks it’s a silly question right up until he remembers the more physical changes Karura has caused. He really did turn younger, didn’t he? He laughs, delighted, “Yes, I’m Toudou! My previous demon was getting old and unreliable, so I got a new one! Stronger, too.”</p><p>“What are you!?” Yukio demands. Saburouta dislikes the tone.</p><p>“Oh, never mind all that! Care to play a little? I want to try out this fire, and I’ve been wanting to talk to you since our last little chat. Perhaps some small talk to start us off?”</p><p>Saburouta reaches into his coat and unlatches a few of his throwing knives, coats them in fire. “Here’s a nice conversation starter-” he throws them, not really aiming at Yukio, but just trying to spook him into action “-How’s your brother?”</p><p>Yukio jolts as the knives sink into the ground at his feet. Saburouta uses his lapse in attention to attack again – throws him back, sends him skidding over the ground.</p><p>“Hm? You don’t want to answer that? Come on, it’s not that hard of a question, is it?” He feels fire take over him. He pulls out another series of knives but doesn’t throw them just yet. Instead, he courteously allows Yukio to regain his footing. “I’ll ask again, Okumura-kun - <em>how is your brother</em>?”</p><p>“My brother has nothing to do with you!” Yukio shouts, firing off three shots. The burn up before they reach Saburouta.</p><p>“Finally got a rise out of you…” Saburouta chuckles, “Come now, Okumura-kun, have I touched a sore spot?”</p><p>He jumps forwards further than humanly possible, lands with shockwave of fire intent on burning everything. Yukio turns to avoid the brunt of the flames.</p><p>“Heh, I feel that you are a kindred spirit,” Saburouta announces jovially. Yukio fires off more rounds, and again they burn up without reaching their target. “Asleep or awake, you’re hung up on your family!”</p><p>Playfully, Saburouta goes after him and Yukio dodges, trying to get in shots that he really should realise won’t hit.</p><p>“I understand, of course,” Saburouta says, throwing his last round of knives, “I used to be that way too. In fact, it might be this form, but-” he laughs “-I keep remembering!”</p><p>Father. Waro. Tsuguro. He was never anything good in their eyes, never satisfactory and always lacking, always weak-</p><p>They’re dead now. He killed them. Their thoughts and opinions have long since turned to ashes.</p><p>(They still <em>hurt</em> sometimes.)</p><p>Yukio is relatively easy to corral and lead off deeper into the forest, away from the rest of the fight. Saburouta wonders if the teen even realises, or if he’s too busy staying alive.</p><p>Yukio raises his gun again and fires off, aimed straight into Saburouta’s face.</p><p>But this time, they don’t burn up.</p><p>And… for just a second after the bullets hit, everything… is missing.</p><p>He doesn’t feel them go through the contents of his skull, and he doesn’t feel them exit either.</p><p>Saburouta swirls back into awareness crumpled over on his knees. First, the world blinks back into existence and he is just a pinpoint of incorporeal existence. But then it all rushes back in, the sensation of his body, his limbs, the pain in his face and scalp and – <em>in his head in his head in his head</em>-</p><p>“Haa… rrgh-” he groans, mouth and jaw and tongue seeming strange for a moment. Feeling distinctly puppet-like, he touches a hand to the hole where one of the bullets entered. “That… actually hurt!” he forces out. His voice sounds weird and wrong to his ears.</p><p>Reality has shifted to the left just a few degrees between the time he was… he was braindead, wasn’t he? And then he… regenerated.</p><p>“The Naiad’s kiss... magic bullets…” he pauses to breathe, something inside his chest feels like it didn’t reconnect right, like his heart is fluttering and flinching instead of <em>beating</em>, “Ahh - I get it, I’m kin to fire now, so that makes me weak to water. Learn something new every day…”</p><p>He squeezes his hands over the wounds, but the blood gushes out between his fingers. He feels it running down his face hotly, feels it leave his body. It still hurts, still burns, it’s not- it’s not healing as fast.</p><p>But it’s fast enough. For now. He’s still in control. Just needs to practice a little more caution.</p><p>“Unfortunately, the elementals powering those bullets are too weak,” he says tightly as he squeezes his eyes shut for a second before grudgingly opening them again.</p><p>Fuck, he can feel the bones at the base of his skull knit back together, can feel the muscles snapping into place, “It’s like,” he can barely keep track of his thoughts through the sensation, “pouring a few drops of water over hot coals.”</p><p>Yukio’s finger rests over the trigger. He’s looking down the sights. Saburouta jumps out of the way before he pulls it.</p><p>He doesn’t want a repeat of whatever just happened.</p><p>“Let’s start over,” he says jovially, further off and between the foliage, “Do you have any hobbies?” he asks. He can still feel the holes in his face, but when he brings his hand up again it meets the supple skin of his cheek. It’s healed. He can’t help but worry that the bullet had shattered somewhere inside his skull, that a part of it is still <em>inside him</em>. “Or a dream, perhaps?”</p><p>‘Don’t let it bother you,’ he thinks to himself, ‘you need to be in the present. He’s just a kid, but he’s clever.’</p><p>“Stop playing around!” Yukio barks, letting off a volley of shots that Saburouta avoids narrowly, jumping high.</p><p>“Oh right, you wanted to be a doctor. You’re taking the advanced courses in high school-” he keeps moving, fast zig-zags over and between the trees “-Father Fujimoto had a physician’s license, didn’t he?”</p><p>He jumps into the clearing, avoiding the bullets whizzing by just barely. “It must have been hard for you to study two meisters at once…” He takes the handkerchief from his pocket and dabs at the blood on his face. “I suppose you’ll follow in Fujimoto’s footsteps to earn them all.”</p><p>He tilts his head sideways to avoid a bullet that would have hit between his eyes otherwise. “And also, like Fujimoto, you teach demon pharmaceuticals at the cram school… Okumura-kun, it’s time to realise you’re just <em>copying</em> him.”</p><p>The bullets stop coming. He can see it- can see the lost child in the boy’s eyes. The lonely, hurting thing inside. It’s just <em>so easy</em>.</p><p>“But he’s dead now,” Saburouta says gently, though he feels a ravenous grin spread across his lips, “and you only have your brother. Tell, me, if he were to <em>disappear</em> as well… would you even have anything left?”</p><p>Saburouta’s face itches where the bullets had gone in. He shoves the feeling down. He’s <em>busy</em>.</p><p>“Shut up!” Yukio yells, desperate and full of emotion. He shoots again, but no matter how good his aim is normally, his hands are shaking now. Saburouta feels the handkerchief be ripped from his grip, but it misses his head by a wide margin.</p><p>Cautious nonetheless, he jumps again, to avoid the next ones.</p><p>“I bet you promised Fujimoto that you’d protect Rin,” Saburouta chimes, “I bet the trajectory of your life was laid down by him, and you just follow it obediently.”</p><p>Karura makes moving so easy. So wonderful. Saburouta feels like he’s flying- “Oh, Fujimoto treated Rin differently from you. He was special. And <em>you</em> were training day and night to become an exorcist.”</p><p>Saburouta’s circling him, not unlike a vulture, not unlike a shark, “You were raised a tool to protect Rin. Nothing more!” he jeers.</p><p>“You’re wrong!” Yukio yells, and- his shots are awfully sloppy now- “I chose this path for myself! Father and Rin have nothing to do with it!”</p><p>“Haha, you’re not hitting anymore!” Saburouta laughs, “Your heart speaks the truth… which is no surprise. You must be wondering – ‘why must I do this for Rin?’- when he has no idea how you suffer. Go ahead and admit it –</p><p> It isn’t fair. It isn’t right. You can’t <em>stand</em> it.”</p><p>They’re at a standstill now. Saburouta can <em>see</em> something breaking. “Okumura-kun… you <em>hate</em> your brother, don’t you?”</p><p>Yukio looks like a cornered animal now, bared teeth and all, “I won’t let you get to me.”</p><p>Saburouta thinks that’s a funny thing to say. He already has. “You’re going to stay calm, is that it? Say, Okumura-kun, have you ever really looked at yourself?”</p><p>Yukio’s answer is more shots fired. Understandable. <em>Expected</em>.</p><p>Saburouta can dodge them easily. But then, they taper down. Yukio stands still, his head hanging low.</p><p>“Hm? What’s the matter? Are you tired already?” Saburouta asks.</p><p>He… hadn’t expected this. Yukio smirks at him as the ground lights up with various summoning seals.</p><p>“When did that happen?” Saburouta asks out loud as he looks around – it’s a full circle, taking up the whole clearing.</p><p>Yukio calls the demons by name – naiads – with a kind of calm conviction. Saburouta admits he’s… underestimated the teen.</p><p>“I see… So, you pretended to miss so you could lay down this trap… you really are a prodigy.” Saburouta stands calmly and waits for what happens next. He can give Yukio that much.</p><p>“I love my brother and I hate him as well,” Yukio says. There’s raw emotion in his voice. “But more than that, I’ve always hated myself for being small and weak… <em>I’m </em>the one I really hate!”</p><p>The last of his words are muffled by the water that rushes up and around Saburouta. It hurts. It feels like drowning. Saburouta manages to hold his breath for a moment, but the water’s pressing on him, compressing him from all sides and he can’t help but-</p><p>gasp-</p><p>and then it fills his mouth and nose, and he tries to cough, but that makes it worse-</p><p>He’s never really feared water up until now. First time for everything, he supposes.</p><p>But... no… he can’t lose to <em>this</em>. Saburouta taps into Karura, the hearth within his chest, a fire that blooms outwards and boils the water instantly, leaving Saburouta in a thick, rapidly dissolving steam.</p><p>He can’t help but laugh. He’s cheated death twice now in… how many minutes?</p><p>“Bravo!” Saburouta cheers and applauds as the last of his prison bubbles away, “You’re not even a tamer and you summoned so many naiads!”</p><p>Yukio looks up at him through the exhaustion. His eyes are full of unrestrained hate. He won’t last long now – he’s too tired.</p><p>“But you have much to learn,” Saburouta says as his feet hit the ground. He lets out a pulse of pure <em>power</em> that sets sears the leaves off the trees and turns the grass to ash.</p><p>Yukio tumbles violently away, carried by the impact.</p><p>“So… that’s you answer, huh,” Saburouta says mildly as he grabs Yukio by the neck, pinning him down with a knee to the stomach. “You know, you’re a lot more interesting than I thought you’d be. It’s too bad that you have to die.”</p><p>Saburouta thinks back to how this kid looked the first time he met him. Calm and composed and orderly… none of that left, now. Yukio glares up at him, a mutt with bared teeth that is so scared to die that it no longer <em>feels fear at all</em>.</p><p>“I wonder what it takes to reduce a human body to ash…” Saburouta muses mildly just to watch the realisation dawn in Yukio’s eyes, “I’ll have to time it just right. You don’t mind being my test subject, do you?”</p><p>He lets the fire engulf his whole body. He needs to keep the heat as high as he can. A little mercy – Yukio will die just that bit more quickly.</p><p>But just before he can <em>burn</em> the kid – it’s like a jolt through his whole body. A pang of pure terror that has him flinching backwards and <em>away away away</em>-</p><p>He doesn’t even understand what just happened, not at first. His heart is racing, and there’s the fuzzy static feeling of fear fogging up his mind.</p><p>Just what was that-?</p><p>Saburouta stares at Yukio- and then he sees-</p><p>“What’s with your eyes?” he asks. They’re not right, they’re different from just a second ago. “Ahh, I instinctively leapt away… You know, I always thought you were interesting, but it seems I keep underestimating you.”</p><p>He stalks closer, looking at the kid with a morbid sort of curiosity, “Just what in the world are those?”</p><p>Yukio doesn’t seem to know either. His face screams of confusion and fear.</p><p>“Those aren’t <em>your eyes</em>!” Saburouta exclaims with glee. He’s just about to-</p><p>There’s an impact to the side of his head that sends him flying. He feels the bones of his skull give with a sick crack.</p><p>From where he lays in the bushes, he can see the assailant – no other but his old pupil – Shima Juuzou.</p><p>“Oh, how odd to run into you at a time like this…” Saburouta says, coughing when he feels something in his chest settle firmly back in to place, “You’re quite persistent. How did you know I was here, Shima-kun?”</p><p>“It wasn’t hard with you showing that flame off like that. You old trickster! You’ve ruined everything that was important to me!” Juuzou shouts,” When I’m done with you, there won’t even be ashes left! Prepare yourself!”</p><p>Oh, Juuzou… ever straightforward and honourable. Something catches Saburouta’s eye… that flame on the tip of Juuzou’s khakkhara… he senses something…</p><p>“Are you under Ucchusma’s protection?” he asks, “Ohh, that’s interesting.”</p><p>Saburouta rises to his feet with an easy sort of smile, “Say, Shima-kun. Shall we find out whether an Agni or Karura is stronger?”</p><p>“You will burn!” Juuzou bites back. There’s determination on the lines of his body. A controlled sort of anger.</p><p>This should be <em>amusing</em>.</p><p>“Ucchusma!” Juuzou calls out, “Unleash your flames!” he throws wheels of fire at Saburouta… but it’s no good. They feel like a warm breath that envelops him.</p><p>Saburouta rushes in, and Juuzou throws another wheel, but he manages to knock the khakkhara back in time so that it only nicks him in the neck. He feels the wound stitch back together near instantly.</p><p>“Do you remember your classes well, Shima-kun?” Saburouta asks with a smile, “When two instances of the same element meet, the stronger one will consume the weaker. Karura’s regenerative ability wins out.”</p><p>He jumps back as Juuzou makes to swipe at him with the khakkhara. Juuzou stares him down, foreboding.</p><p>“So, don’t you suppose I win? Turns out I have nothing to gain from you. So – farewell!”</p><p>He rains down a barrage of fire on the monks. They summon up barriers, but- how long will they hold?</p><p>He sees them converge and talk but cannot make out the words through the noise. It’s just a little amusing…</p><p>“Isn’t it too late for a strategy session?” Saburouta asks, not letting up on the fire. One of the seals breaks, throwing its caster backwards.</p><p>“There are casualties either way- we’ll do it!” Juuzou announces to the monks. Saburouta wonders what exactly they think they can <em>do</em> <em>to him</em>. “Narumi and Shishamo, take the lead! Kumagai and Chigusha will strengthen my flame!”</p><p>Two of them make to attack.</p><p>“Alright, let’s see what you’re up to~” Saburouta singsongs as they flank him. He absorbs the flames easily and manages to snag their khakkharas and throw them off balance.</p><p>“These attacks are like dessert to me!” he exclaims, getting ready to incinerate the two-</p><p>But then there is Juuzou, from above. He throws – silly him – even more fire at Saburouta.</p><p>“How many times do I have to tell you?” all that he feels is the heat. The blinding, terrible heat. It fizzles under his skin, inside of his bones. “You have to think before you attack, Shima-kun! You were always so short-tempered as a student. You should work on that.”</p><p>“No,” Juuzou says, and he’s… grinning? “That guy in the glasses thought of this.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Indeed there’s… there’s something wrong. The heat is unbearable, he realises. Saburouta sees his hands crack and crumble to dust.</p><p>He’s… <em>burning</em>.</p><p>And then he falls apart with a great, big bang.</p><p>There’s a moment of darkness and nothingness again. Just like when he got shot in the head. Except he doesn’t come to in his body. He doesn’t <em>have</em> a body, not right now.</p><p>He feels amorphous and vague. His mind is all fuzzy. But he must- he must keep it all together, lest he dissolve completely.</p><p>“I see…” he manages to say as soon as he has a face. His body slowly realigns. The feeling comes back slowly. He feels half-paralysed. “You wanted me to overheat… Ah, one should never eat too much, that’s true. I suppose you did teach me something in the end. But you mustn’t underestimate Karura…”</p><p>He can feel it like a click when it suddenly… stops. His body freezes on the spot, caught somewhere between utter entropy and <em>life</em>. But why-?</p><p>“Ah,” he says, watching the ashy mould of his hand melt as water hits it, “It’s raining.”</p><p>“If an immortal body turns to ash and dissolves in water, it can’t regenerate so easily,” Yukio says from across the field. He doesn’t look satisfied at his own cleverness. He just looks tired and angry, and like he would rather be anywhere else.</p><p>Saburouta, despite everything, laughs, “I guess you win.” He feels himself go numb again as his form crumbles. He smiles ruefully up at the sky. When did it start to rain? “Ah… I can’t believe this…”</p><p>And he disintegrates.</p><p>-but it’s not so bad, perhaps. It’s hard to describe the feeling. It doesn’t really feel like anything else. It’s not floating. It’s not flying. It’s not lying in bed in the dark, eyes open.</p><p>It’s existing without a body. It’s not existing at all.</p><p>He’s not sure about the logistics of this. How exactly he can still feel and move. But he can. And he’s aiming for <em>Yukio</em>.</p><p>Perhaps not even to hurt the kid. He can’t really do that too well right now, not with- he has just a hand now. The rest of him is amorphous. He just wants to give the kid a scare, is all. A friendly little retaliation for this whole ordeal.</p><p>Yukio tries to shoot him, of course; perhaps he isn’t quite getting that it achieves nothing, perhaps he just has no other way to fight.</p><p>It’s kind of funny.</p><p>“I told you it was nothing to scoff at,” Saburouta laughs as he re-forms on the other side of the clearing. Amazing – he has Juuzou by the throat on the ground with the hand that isn’t quite his right now. Has Yukio cornered.</p><p>“You can’t kill me,” he says. Physical sensation returns as his body comes together once more. Hands, torso, legs, neck. It grows. It comes alive like a candle flickering lit by itself. Exhilarating.</p><p>“Thank you for letting me test Karura out,” Saburouta calls out, sincere, “I suppose I should get going now… but first…Okumura-kun… you’re just too interesting to leave alone.” He grins widely as the bone of his skull forms, as the meat grows over it.</p><p>“You monster!” Yukio yells, blasting Saburouta’s form to bits again.</p><p>Hm, he’s getting better at this. It only takes a moment before Saburouta emerges yet again, behind Yukio this time. “You said you hate yourself… Such adolescent self-loathing… be careful. It’s the first step to becoming a demon.”</p><p>“I’m not like you!” Yukio shoots him over his shoulder without turning around.</p><p>Saburouta crawls like sludge up his coat, over the gun, rendering it useless for now, “Your brother is a demon, so why do you hate them so much?” He grabs Yukio by the neck with a half-formed hand, making him lose balance and stumble backwards, “Demons aren’t <em>all bad</em>, are they? Why, you have some demon in you too!”</p><p>The weight of Saburouta’s forming body causes Yukio to fall backwards. He’s got the kid effectively neutralised.</p><p>“Come on, Okumura-kun. Show me again,” Saburouta says jovially. He needs another look at those eyes. The blue ones. The ones that aren’t <em>Yukio’s</em>. But what looks back at him isn’t fear, not like before. It’s hatred. Stubbornness.</p><p>“Hmm,” Saburouta hums, feeling that perhaps he might not get another glimpse so easily. How to get him afraid again? His mind is rolling with possibilities. “You absolutely reject demons, do you?”</p><p>-something comes crashing through his skull again-</p><p>The khakkhara embeds itself into the dirt a ways ahead. Ah, right, <em>Juuzou</em>.</p><p>“Shima-kun, did you do that?” Saburouta asks. It’s a rhetorical question. It couldn’t have been anyone else.</p><p>Juuzou coughs, holding his sore throat. His expression is so terribly <em>angry</em>.</p><p>Yukio uses Saburouta’s lapse in attention to yank the gun from his grip and fire a round off – it throws Saburouta off. Must’ve been an elemental round to boot. He feels it – it hinders his regeneration.</p><p>So <em>pesky</em>.</p><p>Yukio pushes his advantage to blow him apart again. Stomps his foot right through the ashen cast of Saburouta’s arm. His glasses are slipping from his wet face. It’s amazing they’re not fogged up. A special coating, perhaps?</p><p>“Before you die, answer this,” Yukio says, pushing the glasses back up. The barrel of the gun looms over Saburouta’s face, and he smiles at it like an old friend. “Who are you and what do you want?”</p><p>Saburouta’s smile widens. He has no plans to answer that. “Ah, I like the look on your face right now. You look like a <em>demon</em>. Doesn’t it feel right?”</p><p>Yukio grits his teeth, eyes a storm of hatred and rage and a loathing so strong it must be hard to bear.</p><p>“It’s too soon, you know. I can’t tell you.” Saburouta admits.</p><p>“Then die.”</p><p>In a moment of uncontrolled emotion, Yukio unloads the entire clip into what remains of Saburouta’s body, and into the ground when that gives away.</p><p>Saburouta doesn’t bother reforming. He’s had his fun now. It’s time to go into hiding. But before that – he needs to contact some people about his success.</p><p>--</p><p>It takes him a few days to get used to Karura enough to be presentable. Those days are spent mostly lying around his hide-away flat on the cool floor, fighting off a never-ending stomach-ache and a terrible fever that has him feeling like his skin will melt right off.</p><p>Saburouta rolls over on the tiles of the bathroom, presses his heated cheek against the cold surface. Well, not really cold anymore. He’s managed to bring the entire apartment up to an unbearable temperature. All the windows are open, and the AC is on, and he’s still not <em>getting air</em>.</p><p>Another cramp seizes his abdomen, and he curls in on himself with a weak groan.</p><p>“You bothersome thing,” he curses, his voice raw. God, he’s so thirsty. The incessant sweating has him feeling like a juiced fruit. But he can’t drink more than a few sips at a time - it makes him feel even more ill.</p><p>Karura rears up inside him, jerks like a fish caught in a net. It feels like someone’s juggling red-hot coals in his guts.</p><p>“I won’t let you go,” Saburouta hisses, not sure if more to himself of the phoenix, “not after all I went through to get you. Ten years of planning. I’ll hold on to you if it kills me, little bird.”</p><p>Another cramp. He keens, biting down on the inside of his cheek just to have some other sensation to focus on. His mouth fills with blood.</p><p>The tension relents after a while, Karura too tired to torment him further.</p><p>The first day was the hardest. After that fight with Yukio and Juuzou, Saburouta had all but collapsed in a Kyoto back-alley. He’d called up headquarters and explained that he had the bird, but that he was having issues keeping it down.</p><p>They’d given him excuse until he got it under control.</p><p>The message inviting him to the Commander’s estate sits in his phone.</p><p>[Congratulations, Saburouta-san. Your success is most commendable. Lucifer, King of Light and Commander-in-Chief invites you to his personal audience to express His gratitude.]</p><p>Shakily, Saburouta gets up on all fours and crawls to the edge of the bath. Runs the water cold and takes a few careful sips. The water enters his mouth hot, near boiling.</p><p>He’s so thirsty. He longs for nothing more than a cold gulp down his parched throat. Nothing more than relief from this terrible heat.</p><p>‘Just a few days more,’ he thinks, more hoping than knowing, ‘Karura will tire. And then I will see the Commander.’</p><p>He leans over the side of the tub heavily, places his head under the faucet. The water hisses as it hits his head. It’s enough to take the edge off, but it’s not <em>enough</em>.</p><p>Saburouta groans weakly. He’ll get through this, but it’s going to hurt.</p><p>--</p><p>And then comes a day when he feels like a person again. He wakes up from a fitful couple hours of sleep bent awkwardly in the tub and… it doesn’t burn.</p><p>He doesn’t realise what’s changed at first, the feeling had become so pervasive, so omni-present that… it had all but became the background radiation of his life.</p><p>Shaky, he gets out of the tub and looks at himself in the mirror. Gone is the sick flush, now he just looks kind of pale and tired and like he hasn’t had rest in a long time.</p><p>(Perhaps five days is a long time.)</p><p>Saburouta gets dressed (his clothes fit ill now, hanging off his frame unbecomingly) and grabs his wallet. He needs to get some food – he’d run out and had generally been too unwell to head down to the store.</p><p>Not that he’s had much of an <em>appetite</em> until now. But currently, some corner store meal is just what he needs.</p><p>He calls Homare when he gets back to the apartment afterwards.</p><p>“<em>Hello</em>?” her cool voice greets over the line.</p><p>“Hello, it’s me,” Saburouta answers a little hoarsely, “The bird has finally settled down. I’ll come by tomorrow if that’s fine.”</p><p>There’s a little pause as she probably checks the schedule. “<em>Yes, that’s fine. You may come whenever; tomorrow is a rest day. How are you feeling?</em>”</p><p>“A lot better now that I’ve gotten something to drink and eat. Ahh, she’s definitely a feisty one, fire demons are something else altogether,” he laughs, padding over to the window and peering outside through the blinds.</p><p>“<em>It’s good that you’re settling into control</em>,” Homare comments, “<em>I have to go now, but do try and stay safe until tomorrow</em>.”</p><p>Saburouta laughs, “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t go causing trouble now. I already had some playtime, so I’m satisfied. Go and work, darling, and send my regards to the Commander.”</p><p>“<em>You can do that yourself tomorrow, and congratulate him too</em>,” Homare says, “<em>We’re opening the Gate today</em>.”</p><p>“Oh!” Saburouta exclaims, giddy, “Wonderful! I’ll make sure to do that. Bye now!”</p><p>“<em>Bye.</em>”</p><p>--</p><p>Loathe as he is to admit it, Saburouta hates Lucifer’s mansion. It’s a large art-nouveau style building with carefully crafted gargoyles perched in the eaves and a tastefully lit path leading through a garden to the main doors. The gravel of the footpath crunches under Saburouta’s shoes.</p><p>The sight of the doors unnerves him. The feeling never seems to leave. This house – it reminds him of his youth, of his early adulthood, of the <em>Family Home</em>. Saburouta grits his teeth as he uses the knocker to signal his arrival.</p><p>One of Lucifer’s servants opens the doors and leads him through the halls. Their footsteps echo in the wide space. Saburouta spies a couple new paintings and a few more houseplants than there were the last time he visited. They add to the atmosphere in a nice way, and he can’t help but nod in acknowledgement.</p><p>Then, the servant opens the door to Lucifer’s room and lets Saburouta in.</p><p>“How are you feeling, Commander?” Saburouta asks as he stops and bows a respectful distance from the bed.</p><p>“Today I… feel great… Toudou…” Lucifer admits, his voice strained. Just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the medical machinery by the bedside.</p><p>“I came to announce my success in capturing the Phoenix Karura,” Saburouta says with a smile, “And to congratulate you on opening the Gehenna Gate.”</p><p>“What… pleasant news… thank you…” Lucifer says, “Come, sit… tell me… more about… Karura…”</p><p>“Of course, Commander,” Saburouta says, sitting by the bedside with a smile, “As you wish.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading have a nice day-! ❤</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>